Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, by George Bush. Whether or not one of the world's most publicity-shy literary stars will relish being given America's highest - and very public - award remains to be seen.

According to the citation the reclusive author has been honoured for "an outstanding contribution to America's literary tradition. At a critical moment in our history, her beautiful book, To Kill a Mockingbird, helped focus the nation on the turbulent struggle for equality."

Lee's 1960 classic tells the story of a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman and is an indictment of racial prejudice. It is told from the perspective of a young white girl, Jean Louise "Scout" Finch, whose father, Atticus Finch, is the lawyer defending the innocent man, Tom Robinson.

Lee set the story in the town of "Maycomb" in Alabama and drew on her own childhood experiences in the South. While insisting that the novel is not autobiographical, she has acknowledged that Scout is based on herself.

Lee was born in Monroeville in 1926, in the deep South, at a time of strict racial segregation. She was a voracious reader who moved to New York determined to become a writer, and succeeded with To Kill A Mockingbird. The book was an instant bestseller and won a Pulitzer prize. It was also made into a hit film starring Gregory Peck, which quickly gained similar "classic" status to the book's.

Unnerved by the extent of critical and popular acclaim her book won, Lee then disappeared from public life, stopped giving interviews about 40 years ago and, other than a 1983 review of an Alabama history book, has published nothing of significance in some four decades. However, she did step out of the shadows last year when it came to light that for five years she had been quietly attending a ceremony at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa for a high school essay-writing contest based on her work. She granted a single interview to the New York Times, speaking only about the students and the essay-writing contest. The picture that emerged of the author from the interview was of a lively and quick-witted old woman who was happy to chat to the students, sign autographs and pose for pictures.

While To Kill a Mockingbird is taught in more than 70% of schools in the US, the book's popularity is not restricted to the States. Last year the book topped a World Book Day poll conducted by the UK's Museum, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), in which librarians around the country were asked, "Which book should every adult read before they die?"

Should she attend, Lee will be presented with the Presidential Medal at a White House ceremony on November 5 with this year's other recipients, who include the 1992 Nobel economics prize winner Gary Becker; Human Genome Project leader Francis Collins; US civil rights leader Benjamin Hooks; and former House Foreign Affairs committee chairman Henry Hyde.

The Medal of Freedom was established by President Truman in 1945 to recognise civilians for their efforts during the second world war. The award was reinstated by President Kennedy in 1963 to honor distinguished service. It is given to those deemed to have made remarkable contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, culture, or other private or public endeavors.